What Consumers Want From Your Brand

Caught between the desire to align with businesses that stand for values they believe in and the need for convenience and affordability, consumers often stick with what they know.

In other words, they head over to established ‘titan’ brands like Amazon.

So, how can you make your company impossible to ignore?

Talking the talk? Walk the walk.

According to recent research from the IPA and Future Factory, we crave knowledge above everything else. Driven by the quest to make informed decisions, 75% of global consumers claim that the first thing they do if they don’t know something is to search for the answer online.

Not only does this have repercussions for businesses in terms of touchpoints and the customer purchase journey; it suggests that people also want brands to be educators. Savvier in their buying habits, consumers are likely to place more trust in retailers that help fill knowledge gaps with engaging content.

We also want authenticity. In the age of Fake News, honesty has become the strongest currency for many consumers – with 69% of the UK population citing it as an important quality in brand communications.

This serves as a warning to companies looking to exploit wider social concerns or movements disingenuously, whilst also shining a light on the potential impact on brand growth of campaigns developed from the heart. Ultimately, if you choose to talk the talk, you’ll be expected to walk the walk.

Taking the fight to titan brands

But what about those pesky ‘titans’? Emboldened by our thirst for an easy life, the likes of Amazon are sinking their teeth into an ever-growing number of sectors whilst becoming a conduit between the consumer and smaller brands. Yet, who does that really benefit in the long-term? With research from Nielsen showing that 90% of consumers would buy directly from a brand if they could, there is a clear path of opportunity for challengers in pursuit of brand growth.

One area where improvements can be made, for example, is data-led personalisation. According to the IPA/Future Factory report, 45% of shoppers would like better tailored product recommendations from brands. With 52% willing to share their data in return for something they might want, the ball is in your court.

Ultimately, however, it’s a case of a little kindness going a long way. Across the purchase journey, your customers should be made to feel important. This encompasses loyalty schemes, special offers, fast delivery and a customer services department that genuinely cares. It requires an inclusive mindset, and strong principles embodied by the entire organisation.

Get all of that right, and your brand’s marketing activity stands a much better chance of delivering the results you want.